Theresa May managed to get her debut Brexit law over its first hurdle this week – but one Tory MP wants to see major tweaks before he’ll offer further support.

John Penrose, the Conservative MP for Weston-super-Mare, has written an open letter to the Prime Minister outlining what needs to change before the EU Withdrawal Bill faces its next vote in October.

The Bill – which will end the supremacy of EU law in Britain, while also copy-and-pasting every EU law onto the UK’s statute books before Brexit – passed its Second Reading on Monday night, with a majority of 36 votes.

But just moments after the vote, MPs queued up to put forward amendments which will be considered at the committee stage – an eight-day series of debates.

Prime Minister Theresa May will have to keep Tory backbenchers on side if she is to pass the EU Withdrawal Bill into law (Image: PA)

Mr Penrose was one of the Tory backbenchers to lead the charge.

He is calling for limits to the so-called “Henry VIII powers” – the nickname for legal instruments which allow ministers to make changes to laws without needing Parliament’s approval.

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Civil servants predict the Henry VIII powers, known formally as statutory instruments, will need to be used as many as 1,000 times in the two-years after Brexit, to ensure EU laws continue to work after the UK’s exit.

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“If we make these two changes, we will strike a delicate but vital constitutional balance. Brexit will happen on time, but Henry VIII will stay firmly in his grave,” said Mr Penrose, founder of the all-party group Best Brexit, writing in the Guardian.

“Let’s not disturb his slumbers; those days are gone.”

Tudor monarch Henry VIII was able to, briefly, rule by 'proclamation'

The former minister said that, as it stands, the current draft of the law, which was originally called the Great Repeal Bill, gives too much power to ministers and makes Parliament weaker.

“The current draft of the Repeal Bill gives lots of power to ministers so we can deliver Brexit – which is essential – but it cuts Parliament’s role right down,” he said.